EARTH DAY

as we celebrate our beautiful home this week, here are some simple things you can do to give back to planet earth. Remember, the earth is what you make it…


1. Cut down on waste: By using a reusable water bottle/coffee mug, or buying a mesh/cloth coffee filter for your coffeemaker you can significantly reduce the amount of waste you produce.

2. Clean your clothes smartly: Wash your laundry in cold water instead of hot and line dry as many pieces as possible (especially linens) to save energy.

3. Make your own cleaning products: Rather than products with harsh chemicals, did you know you can make your own with ingredients you most likely have around the house? Combine baking soda and vinegar then flush with boiling water to clean out clogged drains. Lemon juice is great to remove mildew and corn starch can be used to deodorize carpet.

4. Conserve Paper: Use both sides of a piece of paper in order to print things out. Instead of throwing away used paper, keep a pile of scrap to either print or write on.

5. Buy Local: By purchasing locally produced meat, produce, and dairy products you can cut down on pollution. Not only do the goods not have to travel as far (car, train, airplane pollution), but it also doesn’t need as much packaging or preservatives.

6. Use your legs: Whenever possible, walk or ride your bike. it’s better for you and it’s better for the planet! If you must drive, try to carpool and consolidate trips.

7. Know your impact: It’s good to know how green you are living. By calculating your carbon footprint you can also learn the areas in your life that could use improvement. There are a lot of tools out there, but I used footprintnetwork.org, and really like it. Test it out.